Gottfried Herrmann

Andante e Polacca

Gottfried Herrmann was in aIl probability 20 when he wrote this work during his stay in Hannover (1827-1829). We have not been able to discover where or by whom the piece was commissioned, or for whom it was composed.

Gottfried Herrmann was at this time under the direct influence of Louis Spohr and Moritz Hartmann. The writing is nevertheless already assured, and written during the phase of musical evolution when the Romantic era was being born out of the Classic.

This Andante e Polacca, with its delicate charm, fills a certain gap in the solo trumpet repertoire of this epoch.

The chromatic trumpet (with keys or piston valves) was scarcely 20 years old, coming out after a period of heroic efforts by inventors. Very interesting in this case is that the chosen key of D major is precisely the favorite tonality of the old natural trumpets. There were many attempts at mechanization (intended to chromaticize the trumpet) of the old instruments du ring this era.